Single serve beverages are often available in cylindrical containers of various diameters and compositions. Beverage containers include cans and bottles, composed of plastic, aluminum, or glass. Packaging of multiple beverage cans or bottles is often unwieldy, non-utilitarian and unaesthetic. For instance, soda cans are often packaged in rectangular cardboard cartons. A common means for accessing individual soda cans using such a cardboard carton is through an opening on the top surface of the carton created by removal of a section of the carton along the section's perforated borders. An inadequacy of this method is that access to the beverages is from the top of the carton, which is an awkward maneuver if the carton is positioned on a high shelf. Locating an opening on one of the narrowest sides of the rectangular carton is not feasible as the soda cans are stacked on their sides along the longer dimension of the carton. If an opening is located on the narrowest side of the carton, cans are likely to roll out of the carton.
Another common packaging method is the application of shrink wrap enclosing the containers in a side to side rectangular arrangement. Shrink wrapped beverages are typically accessed by creating or tearing an opening in the top or sides of the shrink wrap. A drawback of shrink wrap is that beverages are often removed randomly and not in an orderly fashion causing the remaining beverages to lack lateral support from the shrink wrap or other beverages resulting in beverages tipping over. Shrink wrapping beverages often leads to a sloppy, disorganized and unsightly display of remaining beverage containers as their numbers decline.
What is needed in the art is a beverage holding system that offers an organized, efficient, and aesthetically pleasing means of storing and dispensing beverage containers. At the same time, it should be eco-friendly.